Mayor Andy Ezard said Friday that staying patient, healthy, safe and diligent is still the key to overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ezard, speaking during a weekly update with the Morgan County Office of Emergency Management, also said Gov. J.B. Pritzker reached out to him Wednesday for a perspective on how downstate Illinois is faring.

He said he was appreciative of the governor’s time and concern.

“If we do have a more regional base approach moving forward, that will help things, because downstate is a lot different than upstate,” Ezard said.

While the majority of the state’s 27,575 COVID-19 cases and related 1,134 deaths have been in Chicago and its suburbs, the outbreak has touched 92 counties in Illinois as of Friday, according to the state health department.

Ezard said that moving forward, he hopes the governor can address the way to get people back to work. He also hopes there will be some guidance about gatherings — which are now on hold statewide as part of the governor’s stay-home order.

Gatherings downstate are different than they are upstate, Ezard said.

“We kind of touched on that and said there’s more space in this area,” he said. “We think we can get it done and asked him to be more definitive on gatherings.”

Ezard said their discussion also touched on rural healthcare, which is a big concern.

“Sometimes, we feel forgotten in a local setting and it’s not just the big health systems that need to be driving this. I think he’s going to address some of those things,” Ezard said.

The mayor said he hopes restrictions will eventually ease and while it’s tough for people, it’s the right thing to do.

“I think we forget those who are not working right now, so we thank you for your patience. We have to get you back to work and we must get you back to work, but we have to stay safe, too, and that’s the goal,” he said. “If we rush back into this, I don’t want in a month or two to come back to this.”